


A Trek Across Time: The History of Star Trek and Its Influence on Culture

by faequeentitania



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Essays, Other, Pop Culture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-10
Updated: 2010-05-10
Packaged: 2019-06-24 11:24:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15629703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faequeentitania/pseuds/faequeentitania
Summary: Since its debut in 1966, Star Trek has become a pop culture icon; influencing everything from technology to media. A brief look into its history, along with that of its creator, Gene Roddenberry, gives us a little look into it's far reaching impact.





	A Trek Across Time: The History of Star Trek and Its Influence on Culture

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my college sociology class, preserved here for posterity.

A Trek Across Time: The History of _Star Trek_ and Its Influence on Culture

_ “To boldly go where no man has gone before…” _

With those words, the opening of one of the most beloved, recognized, and honored television shows in history begins.Since its debut on September 8th, 1966, the _Star Trek_ franchise has infiltrated pop culture like no other television series before or since; inspiring everything from modern technology to science fiction in the entertainment industry.

Everything has a beginning, and _Star Trek_ begins with Gene Roddenberry.Gene was born in El Paso, Texas, on August 19, 1921 and grew up in Los Angeles, California.It is there that he would go to college for aeronautical engineering and take an interest in flying, eventually becoming a pilot.This led him to join the US Army Air Corps in 1941, and would be sent to Guadalcanal, where he participated in approximately 89 combat and reconnaissance missions, for which he would receive the  Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal.

After World War II, he took a job investigating airplane crashes for the Air Staff in Washington DC.From there, he began to work for Pan American Airlines while studying literature at Columbia University.During this job, Gene experienced a life-threatening situation.On a flight out of Calcutta, his plane engines failed and caused a crash in the Syrian Desert.As the surviving senior officer on the plane, he sent two fellow survivors to seek help while he stayed and parleyed with natives who had come to loot the crash.The two passengers managed to find a Syrian Army outpost, which sent a small plane to investigate.From there, Gene was picked up and transmitted a radio message that was relayed to Pan American on the events of the crash.A rescue plane was sent out, and Gene, along with seven other survivors of the crash, were taken to their destination.For his heroics before and after the crash, Gene was awarded a Civil Aeronautics commendation.

It wasn’t until 1949 that Gene decided to move back to Los Angeles, and as recommended by a friend, joined the Los Angeles Police Department.While there, he worked in jail wards and assisted in investigations, after which he was assigned the “skid row beat”, where he came into contact with a variety of criminals- from drug dealers to prostitutes- that would later serve as inspiration for several criminal investigation shows.

Gene spent much of his spare time during the following year with the LAPD writing teleplays and scripts, eventually selling his first one in 1951.He went on to write episodes of _Dragnet_ , _Goodyear Theatre_ , _The Kaiser Aluminum Hour_ , _Four Star Theater_ , _The Jane Wyman Theater_ and _Naked City_ , to name a few, before turning in his badge in 1954 to become a full-time writer.His first position was as head writer for the show _Have Gun- Will Travel_ and he also served as a staff writer for the series _West Point_ in 1956.

Next, Gene created the television series _The Lieutenant_ for MGM Studios, which ran for twenty-nine episodes in 1963.During this time Gene first conceived the idea of _Star Trek_ , yet it wasn’t until MGM asked him to create another series idea that he started to lay pen to paper for the first draft of his layout for the science fiction series.

Though originally enthusiastic, MGM decided not to peruse _Star Trek_ , and Gene moved on to submit his idea to Desilu Studios.Desilu vice-president, Oscar Katz, presented Gene’s _Star Trek_ format to both CBS and NBC, and NBC funded the idea by giving Gene $20,000 in development money to create three story ideas for show episodes.Of the three developed, an episode titled, “The Cage” was chosen to become the show’s pilot.

In the first inception of _Star Trek_ , the story was focused around Captain Christopher Pike, as played by Jeffery Hunter, of the USS Enterprise.Among his crew was the strong and efficient first mate, who is only referred to as “Number One”, as played by Majel Barrett, and Mr. Spock, of the alien race known as the Vulcans, science officer, as played by Leonard Nimoy.In the pilot, Captain Pike and his crew are faced with a unique challenge when Pike is taken hostage by an alien race known as the Talosians, of the planet Talos IV, who use their telekinetic abilities to create elaborate settings and situations in Captain Pike’s mind.They do this in an attempt to make him fall in love with the lone other human who had crash-landed on the planet years before, a woman by the name of Vina, so that he will stay on the planet and be observed as though an animal in a zoo.Through several trial and error attempts, the crew is eventually successful in recuing their captain, and the crew of the USS Enterprise leaves the planet Talos IV behind.

When “The Cage” was shown to NBC executives, it was deemed “too cerebral” for a general audience.However, after spending $630,000 on the pilot alone, NBC decided it deserved a second chance, and for the first time in history, a second pilot was commissioned.

However, several changes had to be made.The removal of several characters being the major over-haul.This included the first officer, Number One, along with the ship’s navigator, and the ship’s doctor.NBC also wanted Gene to drop the alien science officer, Mr. Spock, feeling that he was too inhuman, the pointed ears that all Vulcans have were too satanic-looking, and the character sported an unappealing personality.

Gene, however, was adamant.He believed that Spock embodied the essence of _Star Trek_ , in that he represented the exploration and understanding of the unknown, and insisted he remain.NBC conceded.

When _Star Trek_ ’s second pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” began filming in 1965, three new cast members were added.When Jeffery Hunter declined to take on the new role of Captain James Kirk, Gene cast Canadian actor William Shatner.Along with him came James Doohan, as Commander Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, Enterprise’s chief engineer, and George Takei, who would take on the role of Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, Enterprise’s helmsman.

With the “too cerebral” mark left on “The Cage” fresh on his mind, Gene took no chances with “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” filling the second pilot with many actions sequences and story twists.It centers around the affects the Enterprise crew suffer in response to passing through a mysterious barrier on the fringe of the galaxy.Two crew members in particular, Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell, and Doctor Elizabeth Dehner, suffer strange effects that significantly raise their ESP quotient as well as strange mutations to their physiology.Seeing their abilities rising at an alarming rate and with potentially dangerous implications to the rest of the crew, it is decided that Gary and Elizabeth will be marooned on the nearby, uninhabited planet of Delta Vega, where the ship is planning to stop in order to make repairs to the damage caused by their passage through the mysterious barrier.Though sedated, Gary escapes and plans to take over, proclaiming himself a god, and the captain is forced to kill him in an exciting scene of cat and mouse on the planet’s surface.

“Where No Man Has Gone Before” was given to NBC’s New York headquarters in January of 1966, and by the next month Gene was informed that NBC had accepted the pilot.However, there were still major changes underway for the fledgling series.For example, the design of the crew uniforms and makeup were in flux, while many crewmen who were originally deemed as “regulars” were switched out, dropped, or killed off in the show’s second episode, “The Omega Glory”.However, there were certainly some new faces that came aboard the Enterprise that would stay, and become synonymous with the _Star Trek_ legend.The first was DeForest Kelly, cast as the ship’s cantankerous but likeable Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy.The second was Nichelle Nichols, cast as the only regular female bridge crew personal, communications officer Lieutenant  Nyota Uhura.

Though “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” “The Omega Glory,” “The Corbomite Maneuver,” “Mudd’s Women,” and “The Enemy Within,” were all shot first, it was the show’s sixth episode, “The Man Trap,” that was finished post-production first and was aired on the historic day of Thursday, September 8th, 1966, 8:30pm E.S.T. on NBC.

The show was given luke-warm reviews by critics, and did not hit very hard on the Nielsen ratings.Three months after its debut, _Star Trek_ was in danger of cancelation.What NBC did not initially take into account was the unequivocal devotion of the _Star Trek_ fans.

On December 6, 1966, everyone on the mailing list of the 1966 World Science Fiction Convention was sent a letter.Within it, a cry for help from an impressive spectrum of science fiction writers urged all _Star Trek_ fans to come together to save their show by writing into NBC, NBC’s sponsors and any entertainment publication, such as _TV Guide_ , to inform them of _Star Trek_ ’s audience and their devotion to the series.The first letter-writing campaign on _Star Trek_ ’s behalf was underway and was a definite success, catching the surprised attention of NBC and its sponsors with 29,000 pieces of fan mail from around the country. _Star Trek_ was renewed for a second season.

The series’ troubles were not over, however, because on March 14th, 1967, NBC announced at its annual affiliates convention that _Star Trek_ would be moving from its Thursday night time slot to Friday at 8:30pm.Why NBC made this choice is still unclear, as it was plainly evident from the letter-writing campaign that _Star Trek_ ’s primary audience was of high school and college age.Therefore, Friday nights would be unlikely to attract that audience demographic.

There were also several internal changes occurring in the _Star Trek_ spectrum, such as the dissolving of Desilu, who had so far been _Star Trek_ ’s production company, and therefore _Star Trek_ was handed over to Paramount pictures.

The most outwardly apparent change, however, was the addition of Ensign Pavel Chekov, as played by young actor Walter Koenig, to the bridge crew of the Enterprise.

This addition to the cast of _Star Trek_ was the result of a Russian writer who wrote a critique of _Star Trek_ in the Russian newspaper _Pravda_.The reporter remarked on the lack of a Russian crewmember in an international (and interplanetary) crew, especially considering Russia’s prominence in space research and exploration.Gene Roddenberry agreed with this analysis, and when “Amok Time” was screened for the first time over Labor Day weekend in 1967 at the New York World Science Fiction Convention, Chekov was introduced to audiences everywhere, and received a warm welcome.

Though the second season of _Star Trek_ included such memorable episodes as “Journey To Babel,” “Trouble With Tribbles,” “Mirror Mirror,” and “Amok Time,” the show was not improving in the Nielsen ratings, mostly likely due to its poor time slot.Faced a second time with cancelation, the show’s second letter-writing campaign was put underway.

For a second time, the campaign was successful.Flooded with 115,893 letters, postcards, and phone calls, NBC agreed to renew _Star Trek_ for a third season, and on top of that, it would air in the Monday night 7:30pm time slot.

It was a shock to fans across the nation when NBC decided to change _Star Trek_ ’s air time from its prime Monday slot back to Friday, and pushed back to the 10pm slot on top of that.Gene himself is stated as saying:

“We do not feel that 10:00PM is the best time at all.NBC told us previously thatthey saw this as a 7:30 or 8:00PM show because of its appeal to the youngeradults in the audience.”

In an attempt to persuade NBC to adhere to the original plan of airing _Star Trek_ on Mondays at 7:30pm, Gene, who had been serving as the show’s executive producer since the middle of the first season, offered to retake the line producer position for the show, thereby having a more direct affect over _Star Trek_ ’s content and style.

Unfortunately, NBC was not convinced, and when the final fall schedule was set, _Star Trek_ firmly remained in its 10pm Friday time slot, and so Gene stayed firmly in his executive producer position as well.

Several staff changes occurred at this time as well, such as line producer and cinematographer, drastically affecting both the show’s content and look.By most _Star Trek_ fans standards, this was a change for the worse.A prime example that most refer to is the third season’s first episode, “Spock's Brain,” in which the Enterprise’s first officer’s brain is taken by an alien race to serve as a knowledge source for them.For the majority of the episode, actor Leonard Nimoy’s only job while on screen was to follow Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy around in search for his missing brain (McCoy installed a “remote” into Spock's nervous system to control his motor functions) with a vapid expression.This odd and unimpressive third season opener left many fans disappointed, and served as an ominous omen of the direction the rest of the season was going to take.

On the night of June 3rd, 1969, the last first-run of a _Star Trek_ episode took place, with “The Turnabout Intruder.”However, this would certainly not be the end of the _Star Trek_ legacy.

Almost immediately after the show was canceled, it began to run in syndication not only on NBC channels, but on independent stations across the country as well, bringing in a swell of new fans to the show, partially inspired by the first explorations into space that were occurring at the time.In fact, the NASA’s first shuttle to go into space was named _Enterprise_ , after receiving hundreds of thousands of letters from _Star Trek_ fans across the country demanding it.

Though the original series of _Star Trek_ , (affectionately called TOS by the fans), only survived for an all-too-brief three-season run, its impact was worldwide.

A prime example of this is the hundreds of _Star Trek_ conventions that occur across the globe every year; a tradition that unknowingly started in June of 1971, at a New Jersey public library.A group of about 30-50 people gathered to display fan art, perform _Star Trek_ themed comedy skits, and take part in discussion panels, lectures, and general science fiction conversation and debates.Though not understanding the importance of their gathering at the time, they would be starting a time honored tradition that would grow to astronomical heights.

Within the next year, two women, Elyse Pines and Devra Langsam, would begin discussions of organizing an official _Star Trek_ convention, despite the opinions of many naysayers.They were persistent in their idea, and soon after several other fans would join their efforts, later becoming known as “The Committee”.They organized a get-together at Brooklyn College, and a following one in a New York City hotel ballroom.It was estimated that maybe a couple hundred people would show up, if they were lucky.Little did they know, it wouldn’t take long for every seat in the 200 person-capacity auditorium at Brooklyn College that had been booked to be filled, and soon after so would every isle and every available bit of floor space.It quickly became almost impossible to enter or leave the auditorium.The Committee was astounded, and it was immediately apparent that if they were having crowding issues at Brooklyn, the New York City convention would be completely overwhelming.They were right.

The New York convention also set a new precedent for future _Star Trek_ conventions with its celebrity guest speakers, including Gene Roddenberry himself. _Star Trek_ merchandise also became prevalent, with vendors at conventions selling a wide array of items such as shirts, bumper stickers, posters, replicated props, and starship models.

 _Star Trek_ ’s influence is not just limited to its fans, and has spread out far and beyond what most people acknowledge as _Star Trek_.A prime example is _Star Trek_ ’s influence in the invention of the cell phone.Dr. Martin Cooper, then General Manager of Systems at Motorola, recalls watching Captain Kirk communicating to the Enterprise with ease on his communicator, and was inspired to create the first cellular phone prototype, called the Motorola Dyna-Tac.In April of 1973, Cooper successfully made a call on the first, two and half pound wireless phone.Though considerably heavier and bulkier then its _Star Trek_ counterpart, the Dyna-Tac was the beginning of a technological revolution.Some cell phones of today are even similar to the _Star Trek_ communicators in their design, as any flip phone demonstrates.

 _Star Trek_ has also played an important role in many people’s career choices, such as Mae Jemison, who became the first black woman to go into space in 1992 on the shuttle _Endeavor_.Growing up, her television idol was Lieutenant Uhura, for her tech-savvy role as a full crew member on the Enterprise.Her admiration went so far that while on the _Endeavor_ , her communications back to NASA would begin, “All hailing frequencies are open,” Uhura’s most signature line in her role of communications officer on the bridge.

 _Star Trek_ ’s contribution to culture is certainly not limited to its influence of technology, and has become a favorite reference in the entertainment industry as well.For example, the comedy parody _Galaxy Quest_ is a clear humorous homage to _Star Trek_ , in both it story and its portrayal of science fiction fans.There have also been several comedic television series that have used _Star Trek_ references in the show’s material, such as _Family Guy_ , _The Simpsons_ , and _Futurama_ , and have even gone so far as to have members of the original cast guest star as voices for the show, usually as themselves.

Most recently, CBS’s _Big Bang Theory_ has brought _Star Trek_ , and science fiction in general, to the forefront.The show’s four male characters are all physicists and science fiction fanatics, and as a result, the show is full of science fiction references from many main stream shows and movies, and prime among them, _Star Trek_.

Another prominent _Star Trek_ adage to culture is several internationally known sayings, such as “Beam me up Scotty” and “Live long and prosper.”Several concepts are also internationally known, such as the “Vulcan Nerve Pinch” and “Warp Speed”; vernacular owing itself entirely to _Star Trek_.

Since _Star Trek_ ’s first run in 1966, it has grown into a staple of American culture, and an international science fiction icon.Though faced with rejections, two threats of cancelation, and staff changes, _Star Trek_ has survived to influence the world through its values, views, and beautiful storytelling with enthralling characters.It is not surprising that Gene Rodenberry has become affectionately known as “Great Bird of the Galaxy,” and _Star Trek_ ’s continual legacy certainly helps him live up to the name.  
  


Works Cited

Asherman, Allan. _The Star Trek Compendium_. New York: Pocket Books, 1986.

Laytner, Lance. “Star Trek Tech.” www.editinternational.com. 2009. Edit International. 02 May 2010. < http://www.editinternational.com/read.php?id=4810edf3a83f8>

Nygard, Roger. (Director). Border, Keith. (Producer). (1997). _Trekkies_ [Motion Picture]. United States: NEO Motion Pictures.  
  
“Gene Roddenberry.” 2007. www.StarTrek.com. CBS Studios. 02 May 2010.  
< http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TOS/creative/69095.html>


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